51 Return of the General (1/2)

When Shangguan Rui returned home from the academy, he heard from the wet nurse that An Jinxiu and Zi Yuan had not come back yet, so Shangguan Rui didn't think too much about it.

After saying a few words to Shangguan Ning, who ran out of the room to greet him, Shangguan Rui brought Shangguan Ning inside to see if she was awake or not.

Seeing that Shangguan Rui had returned, the wet nurse went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the family.

By dusk, the nanny had already busied herself with dinner. More than a dozen farmers, who had rented land and cultivated in the villages outside the city, came to deliver the rent to their families.

Shangguan Rui let these farmers in. It was Shangguan Rui's idea to rent out the land to the ethnic group. Now that the peasants had sent money over, Shangguan Rui let out a small sigh of relief. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to collect the money while renting the house, so he didn't have to worry about this business anymore.

While calling the farmers to sit in the front hall, Shangguan Rui told the nanny to cook some more food so Shangguan Ning could go to his room and watch over his Ping An. It was already time for dinner. Since the farmers had come, Shangguan Rui couldn't let them go hungry.

The oldest farmer named Wang followed behind Shangguan Rui and refused, ”Second Master need not be polite, the juniors can go back and eat.”

Shangguan Rui said, ”Elder Wang, don't be modest and stay here for dinner before leaving.”

Old man Wang thought for a while and then explained to Shangguan Rui,” Second master, the youngsters didn't choose this spot.

Shangguan Rui smiled and waved at old man Wang first, then said: ”You're only thinking highly of me. You should eat your fill today before leaving.”

Old man Wang didn't say anything else about leaving. After chatting for a while, An Jinxiu still hadn't come out. He asked, ”Is the Madam Shangguan here today?”

Shangguan Rui said: ”She went to burn incense today. Elder Wang, you said that the city gate is being searched”.

Elder Wang and the villagers shook their heads. ”We don't know either. We only know that there are more soldiers at the city gate today.”

A thought flashed through Shangguan Rui's mind. Yuan Yi and Yuan Wei just left today, could it be that the government is going to arrest them again at this time? However, Shangguan Rui did not think too much about it. Yuan Yi and Yuan Wei had already left the capital. Even if the imperial government sent another search through the entire city, he had nothing to be afraid of.

The nanny thought of preparing food for a dozen people at a time, and she could not manage it alone. Therefore, the wet nurse called Shangguan Rui out of the front hall and said, ”Second Master, can I get a few neighbors to help with the cooking?”

Shangguan Rui took some money from his clothes and gave it to the nurse, saying, ”When you go to hire someone, bring back some food and wine.”

The nurse agreed to go.

Shangguan Rui looked up and saw the raindrops falling from the sky. Shangguan Rui was too annoyed by the recent rainy weather. When could the heavens let him enjoy the sun for a while?

When Shangguan Rui returned to the front hall and sat down to talk and wait for food, it started to rain harder and harder outside. Some farmers took the initiative to talk about the recent weather. The constant downpour was not a good thing for their farming. Although Shangguan Rui was a reader of the Book of Virtue, he was also interested in farming. He could talk with the dozen or so people who faced the sky while facing the earth all day long.

The nurse went to the street to buy a lot of food and wine, and then went to a neighboring house to get help. Shangguan home was in an old alley south of the city. Although she wasn't the old neighbor here, she had a good relationship with their neighbors. When the nanny asked for help, the women next door all agreed and came.

For a moment, the Shangguan Family was bustling with noise. It was completely different from the quiet that could only be heard when Shangguan Rui was reading.

”Big brother!” At this time, Shangguan Ning who also woke up from her dream. In the dream, when her brother came back, he brought her a bag full of pastries, which made her drool in her dreams. She looked around, then ran to the door and looked outside, she confirmed that she was just dreaming, after realizing that his big brother Shangguan Yong didn't come back, Shangguan Ning suddenly felt like crying, she really wanted to be with her big brother.

At this time, Shangguan Yong, who was being missed by his little sister, walked through the rain to the south gate of the capital. Seeing that there were a lot more soldiers in front of the city gates than usual, Shangguan Yong stopped walking and did not move forward.

On the way from Xiang An city to the capital, Shangguan Yong had encountered six groups of people who wanted to kill him. The sixth group of people he had met yesterday had killed all of his war horses. Shangguan Yong did not need to think about who wanted to kill him. He had never offended anyone, and the only thing he had was the account book that the messenger king had given him. Besides Marquis Le An, no one else would be so anxious to take his life at this time.

Shangguan Yong turned around and walked towards the back. He found a tea shop not far from the capital and sat down, ordering a bowl of hot tea and a plate of white noodle soup. The way the soldiers in front of the city gate were carefully searching everyone who entered the city made Shangguan Yong suspicious. Who knew if these people were looking for him? The register was the evidence against the empress and crown prince. Besides the Emperor, who else in the capital could surpass these two? Shangguan Yong was forcing himself to eat his fill first. Even if he had to fight with his life on the line later, he still had the strength to fight with someone else.

After Shangguan Yong had finished eating a plate of six big steamed buns, a team of patrolling city guards walked past the tea shop.

As usual, the tea shop owner stood outside the tea shop and greeted, ”Would the military officials like some tea and snacks?”

The leader of the military officers glared at the boss. These businessmen clearly knew that they, who were on duty, couldn't stop eating and drinking, but they still had to shout every time.

The boss wasn't afraid of being stared at by the field officer, but he still stood outside the tea shop with a smile.

After glaring at the boss, the field officer glanced at the boss' teahouse. Because it was raining, there were a lot of people eating in the boss' teahouse to avoid the rain. Among these people, the field officer saw Shangguan Yong immediately.

”Elder Brother Shangguan?” The commanding officer quickly called Shangguan Yong.